With U
Connecting UX Students with Real People’s Problems
& Guiding Their Process with Educational Strategy
Role
UI/UX Designer
Project Type
Personal Project
Tools
Figma, Adobe XD
Illustrator
Responsibilities
User Research, User Persona, User Flow, Wireframe, Prototype, UI/UX Design
Overview
Real-World Problems, Real Learning
The Problem
Many UX students struggle to find real problems for their projects, often ending up with hypothetical exercises disconnected from real user needs.
The Solution
With U bridges this gap by connecting students directly with real people’s problems and guiding them through the design process using educational strategies like community-embedded learning and scaffolding.
Discover
Why do UX students struggle to find
real-world problems?
How I started the project?
As a UX design student, I have noticed many of my classmates struggling to find user problems for their design projects. During discovery sessions, they would sketch out countless ideas, scratch many of them out, and constantly question whether the problems they identified were truly real.
Notes and Sketches from UX Design Students: Ellie, Han, Ivy, Jihyeon
This got me thinking:
Why do UX students have difficulty finding and validating real-world problems when they start a project?
User Research
To dig deeper into this question, I conducted:
In-depth interviews with 4 UX design students
An online survey with 20 UX design students
“Unless my professor gives us a pre-defined brief, I have no idea where to even start looking for real problems. I end up just brainstorming random ideas or copying what I see online.”
— Michelle Nguyen, UX Design Student
“Even when I find an interesting problem, I’m not sure if it’s something UX design can actually solve. I constantly doubt if I’m the right person to tackle it. And when I can’t come up with a solution, I feel guilty like I’m failing the person who shared the problem with me.”
— Ary Tian, UX Design Student
“I don’t want someone to just hand me a solution. What I really need is someone to guide me step-by-step—help me ask the right questions and show me how to explore the problem in the right way.”
— Ivy Grzybowski, UX Design Student
“After I finally pick a problem, I’m stuck wondering what to do next. Who should I talk to? How do I find the right people to interview or survey? Right now, that whole process feels confusing and overwhelming.”
— Alejandra Mendez, Junior UX Designer
Key Insights
From the user interviews and survey, I identified four key insights that highlight
the core challenges UX students face when discovering and validating real-world problems.
Reliable
Problem Discovery
Students don’t have a reliable way to discover real-world problems
Probelm Validation
Students struggle to judge whether a problem can actually be solved through UX design
Process Guidance
Students need process guidance, not just templates or examples
User Connection
After discovering a problem, students feel lost about what to do next and how to connect with the people behind the problem
Competitive Analysis
After uncovering key challenges from user research, I explored whether existing platforms already address these struggles for UX students. I focused on platforms students commonly turn to when searching for project ideas, getting feedback, or collaborating with others. This analysis helped me uncover both what works well today and where gaps and opportunities exist for With U.
Reliable
Problem Discovery
Problem Validation
User Connection
Process Gudiance
Problems exist, but
unstructured and unreliable
Comment
and DMs possible
No process
guidance provided
No validation support
No structured educational
support for students
X
Posts exist, but problems
are scattered and lack depth
Public replies
and DMs possible
No validation support
Open IDEO
Design process guidance exists,
but tailored for competitive teams
Curated challenges
with clear framing
Problems framed by professionals,
but focused more on competition
No direct connection
with problem owners
No existing platform fully supports UX students from discovering real problems to validating and solving them.
Define
Reframing the Core Problem
From Insights to Problem Statement
Based on user research, it became clear that the biggest challenge for UX students is knowing how to find, validate, and frame the right problems. Without structured access to real-world problems and educational guidance on how to explore them, students often feel overwhelmed.
Problem Statement
How might we help UX design students
discover and validate real-world problems with clarity?
User Persona
Mikaila
UX Design Student
22 years old
Recently moved to San Francisco
"I want to design for real people with real needs, not just for class assignments. I want my work to actually make a difference for someone."
Pain Points
No clear way to discover real-world problems
Hard to validate if a problem can be solved through UX design
Needs step-by-step process guidance, not just templates
Unsure how to reach out to the person behind the problem
Current Feelings
Curious / Overwhelmed / Eager to improve
Develop
Ideation: Shaping the Solution
Brainstorming
After defining the core challenges, I had a Crazy Eights brainstorming session to rapidly generate a variety of solution ideas within a short time. This fast-paced ideation method helped me think creatively without overanalyzing each concept.
Conceptualization
I mapped the four key pain points from my research directly to initial solution ideas, ensuring that every feature had a clear connection to a validated user need.
No reliable way to discover real-world problems
Curated problem library sourced from everyday users
Hard to verify if
a problem fits UX scope
Labeling each problem based on UX design standards
No step-by-step process guidance
AI-generated Compass Questions
Unsure how to connect with problem owners
Direct messaging feature to ask clarifying questions
Develop
Educational Strategies in With U
With U is not just a platform to find problems. It is a learning companion that embeds educational strategies into the design process itself. To transform With U into an educational tool, I incorporated two key educational concepts.
Community-Embedded Learning
With U connects UX students directly to real people in the community who are experiencing real problems, transforming the learning process into a collaborative exchange between students and users.
This reflects the community-embedded learning approach. By working directly with problem submitters, students gain authentic insights, build empathy, and experience the real-world context that can’t be replicated through hypothetical case studies.
Curated problem library sourced from everyday users
Scaffolding
They are guided through the design process with AI-generated Compass Questions that prompt critical thinking at each stage.
This reflects scaffolding pedagogy, where learners start with personalized guidance tailored to each problem, then gradually take more control as they gain confidence and learn to navigate the design process on their own.
AI-generated Compass Questions
Learning Process in With U
I designed a structured learning process embedded into With U. This flow bridges problem discovery, user
connection, framing, ideation, and reflection, turning real-world problems into educational experiences.
Learning Process
Key Features
Educational
Strategies
Each step is supported by features that blend community-embedded learning and scaffolding. Through this, students don’t just complete projects. They develop design process literacy they can apply far beyond With U.
Develop
Bringing Ideas to Life
Low-fidelity Wireframe
This low-fidelity wireframe translates key research insights into tangible design solutions.
Each screen addresses one of the core student struggles, ensuring the design directly responds to validated needs.
Deliver
Final Design
Curated Problem Library
Provides students with reliable access to authentic user problems.
UX Standard Categorization
Helps students quickly judge if a problem fits the scope of UX design
AI-Powered Compass Questions
Provides process guidance by framing the right questions, helping students think critically about the problem.
Group Chat with Problem Submitter
& Other UX students
Directly message the person who submitted the problem to ask follow-up questions, clarify needs, and build empathy.
Deliver
Usability Testing
Usability Testing Overview
To understand if With U truly supports UX students in discovering and validating real-world problems for their design projects, I conducted usability testing with 5 students, focusing on how they find problems, assess their relevance using UX Standard Categorization, and navigate the process with Compass Questions and direct messaging.
Feedback Highlights: What Students Said
1.
Real problems felt meaningful
“It’s like a shortcut to real problems. No more scrolling through Reddit hoping to find user problems."
2.
UX Standard Categorization is useful
“It helped me check if this is even something I can solve as a UX designer.
Before, I wasn’t sure if it’s actually a ‘UX problem’ or something totally outside of my scope.”
3.
Compass Questions provided clarity
"Those questions made me slow down and think before jumping to solutions.
It felt like having a mini design coach inside the app."
4.
Direct interaction built empathy
"At first, I thought UX design was just about solving the problem.
But after talking to the person, I realized it’s about understanding their story first."
Reflection
Looking Back, Moving Forward
Takeaways
1. Educational platforms should guide, not just provide answers
The most effective educational tools embed educational strategies directly into the product experience, guiding students to develop their own thinking muscle.
2. Do not design for technology, design for the problem
AI was never the end goal. It is easy to get caught up in the technology itself, but the true value comes from solving the right problems with the most suitable technology.
What’s Next?
Next
Partner with design schools & bootcamps to embed
With U into their curriculum
Future
UX Community hub where mentors, hiring managers, and students collaborate
Vision
Industry standard platform
for real-world learning
& hiring in UX
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